Crimson Skies

Part 5 - enough food?

Shrieking ink black shadows evaporate.

            The young men have sight return to them. There is nothing to see, save for the mop-like trail of damp blood and dark holes in the rock-wall like a thousand morbid eyes.

            Dyle sprints the distance across to where the blood sucks up into a tunnel. He collapses to his knees before it. His great big hands pound against the flat sections around the opening. He yells into its depths.

            “Sarla! Sarla! Answer me! Aila! Sarla!” He shouts into the darkness, his head disappearing inside the narrow breach, but he hears and sees nothing.

            Frantic, he begins to claw away at the edges of the hole.

            “You’ll dig all day and that hole will still never fit you through it. You’re going to scrape your fingers down to the bone and you’re no good to anyone like that,” Jex’s tone is composed and detached. He turns away, walks towards the cliff edge, scanning the drop below.

            Dyle crashes his own skull into the solid rock-wall; he feels blood trickle from where he split the skin down his forehead. Hopeless frustration bares back his teeth. He turns raging green eyes on his friend. In one swift motion, he stands and stalks towards the other boy. Gripping Jex’s shoulder, Dyle is rough in spinning him around. A giant fist connects with Jex’s face and if it were not for the other big hand on his shoulder, Jex would have fallen backwards off the ledge.

            Dyle does not feel the pain in his knuckles. “First you give away half our food for that girl and now you don’t even give a damn about her!”

            Jex rubs his tender jaw, assessing by the amount of tenderness that a bruise will form over his cheek soon. “Well, it does solve a problem. Now there is enough food for us.”

            Dyle’s skin burns with fury and almost hits Jex again, this time wanting to let go of his shoulders as well. Instead, he returns to the tunnel, calling their names with raising panic after each call that goes unanswered.

            “You know what your problem is?” Jex starts, even though Dyle is still shouting for them, he knows his friend is listening to him too, “You are in love and that makes you clouded. You can’t see there is a solution here.”

            Dyle turns his full attention to Jex, standing again. His eyes search his friend’s brown ones in the hopes that the solution is there in plain sight.

            Jex walks passed him, saying, “They’re smart girls. They won’t call out to us. You know whatever got them released them in there. They’re hiding.”

            Dyle closes his eyes and takes in a deep breath to steady his mind and allow for clear thought. How long can they conceal themselves before something gets to them in there? He pushes the thought from his mind as he smears blood across his forehead with the back of his hand. He did not realise he had hit his head so hard.

            “Aila, Sarla,” Jex talks into the darkness, his voice calm and soft, “Twenty hydes down there are larger tunnels. We are coming for you. Don’t move unless you have. If you have to, keep moving down.”

            With that, Jex turns from the hole and runs, leaping off the edge of the cliff.